Okay, I’ve been meaning to talk about this since I caught a clip of it on The Best Week Ever (which is one of my favorite ways to end my work week, can I just say?): Fox’s A Moment of Truth.. WTF?!
Granted, I did not see the show in its entirety. I merely caught a clip that put a marriage and a career into question. You know, in the first ten minutes of the show.
Example of a question they asked Mr. Married Man as he was strapped to a lie detector: “Have you put off having children because you’re not convinced that Wifey will be your life partner?” OHMYGOD. Cue everyone within earshot sweating for the poor guy.
(Of course, “the poor guy” volunteered to be on this show. Dur.)
And in case you’re wondering, the guy said “yes”. And it was confirmed he was telling the truth. Ole Wifey obviously didn’t know what hit her. Which was heartbreaking.
It’s like a car wreck. You can’t stop staring. You’re watching a life crumble — CRUMBLE, I SAY — and yet you get really upset when a commercial break comes on. WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA?
Don’t look at me. I might watch it, but I didn’t come up with the idea.
Ooh, and the other doozie of a question they asked? Mr. Married Man is also a physical trainer. The question was: “Have you ever touched a female client more than was necessary?”
Not wanting to look like a TOTAL goober on national tv (and later on the GameShow Network), he said no. Which a loud and pleasantly smug voice announced on loudspeaker that “That answer was FALSE.” Dayum. Seriously.
So now the guy has NOT ONLY lost any chance at winning any money on this show, but has put his career and marriage into jeopardy as well. It’s like volunteering to walk into Dateline’s “To Catch a Predator”. Willingly.
Without the promise of cookies.
Didn’t they ask “the poor guy” the questions beforehand and then ask a second time in front of Ole Wifey and AMERICA while awaiting the “that answer was…” response? If he KNEW beforehand that Ole Wifey was going to be smacked in the face with some seriously f’ed up honesty on his behalf, couldn’t “the poor guy” have given his (way too hot for him) Ole Wifey a head’s up?
“Sorry, you lose. Take these fresh baked cookies as your parting gift… may they bring warmth to your tummy as your wife files for divorce.”
Dumbass.
How much of a doofus do you have to be to go on that show?! Dayum indeed.
Of course, they don’t mention the margin of error in lie detector results. If the client is under extreme pressure, it could trigger a reaction similar to that produced by a lie.
I can’t watch the show. I just can’t do it. I can’t watch human misery like that. Even knowing that they were the stupid ones who agreed to go on the show to begin with. It’s the same reason I can’t watch Jerry Springer or Tyra or Maury (or the first 15 minutes of that movie Hope Floats). It is just too excruciating for me and I like to be coddled and protected from the evils of life when at all possible, thank you very much.